Phonograph-needle



M. J. RUDERT.

PHONOGRAPH NEEDLE.

APPLICATION man APR.8.1919.

1,358,1 '78, Patented Nov. 9, 1920.

TES PATENT OFFICE man a. annum, or nenn-amas, CALIFORNIA.

PHON@ GRAPH-NEEDLE.

Specification or Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 9, 1920.

Application filed Aprile, 1919. Serial No. 288,563.

To a?? wiz-0m. it may concern.

Be it known that I, MAX J. RUDERT, a citizenI of the United States,residing at Redlands, in the county of San Bernardino, State ofCalifornia, have invented new and useful Improvements in Phonograph-Needles, iication.

This invention relates to needles for phonograph machines; and theobject of the invention is to provide a phonograph needle which willgive improved reproduction results and will have a long operating life,and will not damage the record. It is a further object to provide aneedle which is adjustable for loud and soft reproduction; and toprovide such 'a needle in simple, inexpensive and easily manufacturedform.

I provide a needle construction which emof which the following is' aspecibodies a line wire forming the needle properforming the reproducingpoint--A such wire being in an adjustable mounting, so that the finewire needle may be extended out of, or retracted into, its holder toadjust the projecting length of needle and thereby to vary the loudnessand softness of tone and also to advance the needle from time to time totake care of' wear. This advancement to take care of wear I find to bevery slight; a quarter inch length of needle sufiices for many hundredreproductions.

The holder in which the needle proper is 'held embodies a simpleieasilymanipulated device having a shank adapted to be held in anyordinarysound box clamp. The details of this holder and the detailedfeatures of my invention, together with other objects thereof, will bemost clearly apparent from l the following specific description of aspeciflc preformed form of needle, reference being had for this purposeto the acco1npanying drawings in which- Figure 1 is an enlargedelevation of the needle showing the needle proper in its position offirst insertion in the holder; Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section of theneedle; Fig. 3 is a view showing the needle proper; Fig. 4 is afurtherenlarged view of the recordfollowing-end of the needle; and Fig.5 is an enlarged section taken as" indicated by line 5-5 on Fig. 2.

1 utilize a needle wire, which I term the needle proper, as shown at 10.This needle wire is about 0.006 in diameter; and in using a small needleof this character l nd that it is not necessary to sharpen the recordfollowing end, it being only necessary to somewhat round off the end orround the end edge as is indicated at 11 in Fig. 4. 11nd I find thatthis rounded edge formation is maintained by wear of the needle in therecord groove; that is, as the lneedle wears away its end keeps aboutthe form shown in Fig. l4. y

This needle proper is mounted in a holder 12 which is provided with ashank 13 adapted to be inserted and clampedin the needle clamp of anyordinary sound box. Shank 13 forms a part of the holder body 14; thisbody being a cylindrical metal member preferably of steel and having at15a collar against which one end of an internally threaded rotatablesleeve 16 bears. Sleeve 146 may have a knurled collar 17 to facilitatemanual rotation of the sleeve.

At lits forward end the body 14 is conical as shown at 18, and a conicalcap 19 ts over the forward end of the body, being preferably pressedonto the body, but it may be secured on the body in any suitable manner.Cap 19 has a needle aperture 20 of just the right size to pass theneedle 10 and hold the needle against any loose motion, at the same timeallowing the needle 10 to move freely' longitudinally through the cap.Body 14 has a narrow longitudinal slot or groove 21 whose bottom 22 ispreferably semi-cylindrical and registers accurately with the needleaperture 20 in cap 19; so that the inner part of needle 10 will restagainst the bottom of the groove as is thickness to fit more or lesssnugly in groove 21 and having a serrated edge l211 which enga es withthe screw-threads 25 of sleeve 16. ug 23 may be formed by stamping orany other similar operation and may then be secured to the needle 10 bybrazing, sweating or soldering, or in any other suitable manner. The lug23 may also be provided with a handle 26 formed integrally therewith andconnected thereto by a narrowneck 27; handle 26 affording ready meansfor handling the needle to insert it in the holder and being then brokenoff when the needle has been inserted in the position shown in Fig. 1.The needle may then be advanced or retracted by rotation of-sleeve 16.

Fig. 2 shows the needle .fully extended;

stantially cylindrical body, a shank adapted Fig. 1 shows the `needleextended only a small distance. The amount of needle extension may bevaried to suit the loudness or softness of reproduction desired. If theneedle is extended only a short distance the maximum` loudness isobtained, and Vif the needle is extended farther, a softer reproductionwill be obtained. As the needle wears away by use it may be extendedfrom time to time. This wear is extremely slight and a needle wire of aneffective length of about l, or I iind will last a very long time. Thewire itself, although it. may be harder or softer as conditions'mayrequire, I prefer to make not excessively hard and not very soft.

Having described a preferred form of my invention, I claim: c

1. A phonograph needle comprising a body provided with a shank adaptedto be secured in a sound box clamp and having a longitudinalgrooveextending through one end' thereof, an internally threaded sleeverotatably supported on the body and extending across said groovetherein, and a wire within the groove provided with a laterallyprojecting lug that engages the thread on said sleeve.

2. A phonograph needle comprising a body adapted to be attached to asound box and provided with a longitudinal groove extending through oneend thereof, a cap fitted over said end-of the body with an aperture inalinement with the groove, an internally threaded rotatable sleevesurrounding the body, and a wire vextending 'through the aperture in thecap into said groove and provided within the sleeve with a laterallyprojecting lug that engages the thread on the sleeve.

3. A phonograph needlecomprising a subto` be clamped in the sound boxclamp and having a collar midway its ends, the end of the body `oppositethe `shank being conical, and the body having a longitudinal grooveextending from the conical end to a point lbehind the collar, arotatable internally meente .threaded sleeve surrounding the body andbearing at one end against the collar, a conical cap fitted upon theconical end of the body and confining the rotatable sleeve, said caphaving a central needle aperture registering with the bottom part ofsaid groove,

a needle Wire with its inner end lying in the groove and its outer endprojecting through the needle aperture, and a lug on the inner end ofthe needle with an edge engaging said threads.

4. A phonograph needle comprising a body provided at one end with ashank .adapted to be secured in a sound box clamp by movement of thesleeve.

6. In a phonograph needle, the combination of a body, an interiorlythreaded sleeve rotatably surrounding the body, and a wire adapted tomove longitudinally of the body and having at oneend a lateralprojection terminating in a serrated edge which engages the thread onsaid sleeve, for the purpose described.

7. A phonograph needle embodying a suitable length of fine wire pointedat one end and having at its other end a thin, fin-like, lateralprojection, the edge of which remote from the body of the wire isserrated.

In witness that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto subscribed my namethis 14th day of February, 1919.

MAX J. RUDERT Witness V. BEmNenR.

